Village SOS Competition Awards

VILLAGE SOS, an initiative from the Big Lottery Fund and the BBC, is running a competition which will make awards of between £10,000 and £30,000 to support community enterprise in villages (with populations of less than 3,000).

The competition seeks to give money to enterprising ideas that will use the skills of local people and the area’s natural resources, land and buildings. Community enterprises are businesses that are owned and run by villagers themselves, such as village shops and pubs.

Village SOS highlight the fact that there are around 260 community-owned village shops currently thriving. They are distinguishable from private-sector enterprises by the fact that they re-invest any profits back into the community.

Entry forms for the competition can be submitted online, but must be done so by 5pm, on Thursday 20 October 2011. Find out more at www.villagesos.org.uk/competition

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KC Community Grants - Deadlines 2011

SMALL COMMUNITY GRANTS of up to £500 are available from KC to groups in the Hull and East Riding area.

The KC Community Grants are awarded every three month months and are used to support community groups, schools, charities and organisations.

The Hull-based communications company has established a local Community Panel which assess applications and makes three small grant awards every three months.

There is a simple online application process in which the applicant group needs to outline how a grant would be used and how communities would benefit.

The deadlines for submitting applications for 2011 are Friday 2nd September and Friday 2nd December.

Find out more at the KC website at KC Community Grants.

If you are a local Holderness-based group and you apply to the KC Community Grants - let us know how you get on at hu12@gmx.com.

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Humberside Police Authority: Reassurances to local community following national riots

FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL RIOTS Humberside Police Authority have acted swiftly to reassure local communities that rioting has not taken place in the Humberside Police area and that 'contingency plans' are in place to deal with any incidents.

In a letter circulated to community groups (PDF) yesterday, Kevin Sharp the Chief Executive of Humberside Police Authority writes:

"The purpose of this letter is to reassure you that the Police Authority and the Force are working together to ensure local people and communities remain safe." in this area there "...have been no reported incidents of organised disorder and criminality so far. However, it would be unwise to assume that some sort of 'copy cat' events could not occur locally. Humberside Police are therefore making contingency plans to deal with any events that take place locally."

The letter sent to Kath Jones the Chief Officer of the North Bank Forum was circulated to community groups by e-mail yesterday. Mr Sharp comments upon the decision to deploy some Humberside Police officers to deal with the London disturbances:

"Humberside Police, like many other forces received a specific request to provide police officers to support the policing operation in London. A number of local officers have been sent to the Capital and are working with the Metropolitan Police to deal with the disorder and criminality... the Police Authority is satisfied that the absence of these officers will not impact upon the Force's ability to continue to serve local people and provide a high standard of policing."

The letter was intended to reassure local people - however it will in itself raise concerns that some areas in Humberside are not immune to the disorder seen elsewhere in the country.

Whilst no one can condone the actions of looters and criminals engaged in the self-destruction of their own communities, there needs to be a full investigation into the causes of the 'disaffection' that seems to have gripped an entire section - albeit a small minority - of our younger people and prompted them into self-destructive actions. The 'ingredients' that have fermented this disaffection - and into riots - obviously need to be analysed and understood so that we can tackle the underlying problems.

The Huffington Post (internet newspaper) has asked the questions:

It's surprising how little has yet to emerge about the rioters themselves: What are they after? What drove them into the streets, for four nights straight, to burn buses and shatter windows?

Demanding action against criminals and looters is needed - but if we fail to tackle the underlying causes of the current disaffection, then we will all suffer the consequences.

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Community groups to be charged for playing music!

NOT-FOR-PROFIT organisations, such as charities, churches and community halls are to face new charges in order to play music at events. A licence is required and fees will be payable for any use of recorded music for public performance.

Community groups were previously exempt from paying public performance fees for recorded music, but PPL the music licensing company introduced new charges at the beginning of this year which will take effect (in most cases) from 1st January 2012. This will mean that public venues, including those used by charities and not-for-profit groups, will need licences in order to play music from records, CDs, the radio or television.

PPL say that they hope to be able to bring the cost of a licence, to cover uses by charities and not-for-profit groups, down in most cases to approximately £1 a week, but have announced that organisations with an income above £10,000 will have to pay 1 per cent of their “defined income” in order to play music at licensed events. Those with an income below the £10,000 threshold will pay a flat year annual fee of £42. 

Any third party hire of a community building by an individual or organisation that is earning a commercial income from their use of the building (e.g.Weight Watchers, self employed aerobics instructors, and antiques fairs) will need a relevant licence in place. But it is the responsibility of the operator of the hall to ensure that the person/organisation has a relevant licence in place as they can be held liable under law for any unlicensed usage in their building.

If you only run live music events, you will only need a PRS for Music licence. A PPL licence is only required when recorded music is used.

For specific information relating to your community building or use of a community building where recorded music is played - then read the information contained in the PPL media statement.

Source: CivilSociety.co.uk

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Three Hull MPs to meet the Voluntary and Community Sector

THE HULL CVS has invited local groups to a meeting with the city's three Members of Parliament Alan Johnson, Diana Johnson and Karl Turner.

The MPs have all agreed to come along and update groups on the current situation following the recent Hull City Council budget review and how the cuts in funding have impacted on the voluntary and community sector and also on the government’s Big Society agenda.

The event takes place on Friday 1st July 2011 from 9.30am - 11.30am at the Hull CVS offices at The Strand, 75 beverley Road, Hull, HU3 1XL.

Many charities and civil society groups work in both the Hull and East Riding areas - this event may be of particular interest to them.

Booking is essential - If you have any queries or would like a printed booking form posting out to you then please contact the CVS on 01482 324474 or email sjenkins@hull-cvs.co.uk an online booking form is available at the Hull CVS website.

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Reduce Red Tape and Unshackle Good Neighbours - says report

"A SUFFOCATING BLANKET OF RED TAPE and an insidious mythology about being sued are deterring millions of Britons, volunteer organisations and charities from helping out more fully in society" an independent report revealed this week.

The Red Tape Task Force, led by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, has spent nine months examining the myriad of rules and regulations which put people off giving their time and money to good causes and stifles the volunteer and charity sector in the UK.

In launching the report Unshackling Good Neighbours (PDF File size: 4.69 MB) Lord Hodgson said:

"The variety, diversity and contribution of the charitable and voluntary sector is one of the glories of our country and the Task Force has set out to find ways to assist its continued growth and development. But over recent years we’ve seen a real devaluation of common sense and trust through a tangle of rules and guidance which aims to eliminate risk from our lives but instead creates a risk of a society where people are afraid to help each other."

The Red Tape Task Force set about answering three questions: what stops people giving their time, what stops people giving money and what stops charities and voluntary groups and social enterprises growing? And after reviewing over 600 complaints about excessive bureaucracy and speaking to dozens of organisations and individuals, it has made six key:

• Reform the law to clarify the extent of charity trustees and volunteer liability to encourage more involvement and participation by individuals
• Eliminate regulatory duplication and repeated requests for the same information in slightly different formats, for example by Companies House, the Charity Commission and commissioners
• Establish a Working Party to include representatives of the insurance industry and civil society organisations to address the insurance needs of the sectors
• Encourage investment in civil society organisations by creating a new category of "social investor" and clarify the position of trust law with regard to charities
• Simplify the licencing of fund-raising events and provide clear standard guidance across the sector
• Encourage the out-of-work to get involved in greater volunteering and ensure they and Job Centre staff understand that it does not automatically affect their benefits and welfare payments

The Government Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, has welcomed the report and invited Lord Hodgson to review progress on implementing the Task Force’s recommendations one year from now.

See from the Cabinet Office:

• Press release - Red Tape Task Force calls for clearer legal protection for volunteers
• Unshackling Good Neighbours - Report on how to cut red tape for small charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises

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"Extreme worry" caused by plans to abolish cheques!

"The Salvation Army were the first to flag the depth of their concern to us: 89% of their donor appeal income comes through cheques"

PROPOSALS TO ABOLISH CHEQUES cheques by 2018, have caused "extreme worry" from significant proportions of the Voluntary and Community Sector according to a survey conducted by Civil Society Magazine and nfpSynergy.

In an online survey which garnered more than 640 responses, two out of five charity respondents rated their concern level about cheque abolition as ten-out-of-ten. A further third ranked their concern at the impact on their revenues as either eight or nine-out-of-ten.

Civil Society reports that at present, 40 per cent of charities say they earn between 80 and 100 per cent of their income from appeals from existing donors via cheque and a third get at least 90 per cent of their major donor income paid in by cheque.

Read more about this at Civil Society - Fundraiding News.

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"Bleakest week for a generation" for Housing Services claims magazine

Voluntary Sector Cuts map - Yorkshire & Humberside

INSIDE HOUSING has written a stark assessment of Housing Services this week in light of the impact of spending cuts with the onset of the new financial year. Scores of housing providers across the country face funding cuts of up to 45%. It said:

"Housing professionals have experienced the bleakest week for a generation as hundreds of projects closed or had their funding slashed as the new financial year started."

The weekly magazine for Housing Professionals cites cases in Hull where 20 elderly residents are having to move out of their sheltered housing scheme after Sanctuary Housing’s funding was reduced by £23,000 by Hull Council. Also the homeless charity Doorstep has made 10 members of staff redundant after the council cut its funding by £240,000.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations published a list of charities facing cuts. Of the 454 cuts it listed - worth £74 million - "149 were housing related" says Inside Housing.

Read the Inside Housing article: Dark Day for Housing Services.

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New Government plan to expand volunteering for the unemployed

UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE will be able to access thousands of new volunteering and training opportunities to help them take their first steps back into work - under new plans unveiled by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith.

Under the scheme advisers from youth charity The Prince’s Trust and other local government voluntary organisations will be located in Jobcentre Plus (JCP) offices to signpost jobseekers of all ages to volunteering and training opportunities in their area. The new initiative will particularly benefit young people as they will be able to get more support to help them into jobs, education and training.

In a press release Iain Duncan Smith said:

"I am delighted that this partnership with The Prince’s Trust and local voluntary sector organisations across the country will mean thousands of volunteering opportunities for jobseekers – for some it will be a chance to get some valuable experience and gain skills after years without work.

"I have long been a vocal advocate of empowering grass roots organisations, as I believe they have the dedication, experience and specialist knowledge to get Britain working again."

Prince’s Trust advisers and local volunteering centres will start to appear in Jobcentres in the next few weeks, with a national roll out of the new volunteering promotion from April where possible.

This new partnership approach will undoubtedly offer some unique opportunities for unemployed people to learn new skills to help them back into work, but critics will point to agreements between voluntary sector organisations and the trade union movement that state clearly that volunteering opportunities cannot directly substitute for paid jobs. 

The move will also cause disdain amongst those voluntary organisations experiencing funding cuts. Hull CVS have reported that funding cuts there will mean they will have no dedicated resources to promote and support young people into volunteering. Two staff have been issued with redundancy notices.

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Downing Street Big Society Awards

NUMBER 10 DOWNING STREET has launched a Big Society Award to recognise individuals, groups or organisations that are demonstrating the Big Society in their work or activities.

The "Big Society" project is becoming more clear especially with the publication of the Cabinet Office Business Plan last week, but such Awards are still probably a good idea in order for the Government to popularise and explain the concept.

Any individual, group or organisation can be nominated for an Award which can be completed online.

And what are the actual Awards to be won?

The group will receive formal recognition for the important work that they are doing. They will also receive a plaque and the opportunity to attend a reception at 10 Downing Street.

The 'prize' might/might not be the most appealing, but there is something to be said for local voluntary and community groups applying and demonstrating that they have been doing the 'Big Society' all along - certainly before that term was invented!

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Big Society - Business Plan

THE CABINET OFFICE published its Business Plan earlier this week announcing the launch of its Big Society proposals.

The aim of the Big Society according to the Plan is to "promote community empowerment, open up public services and encourage social action." It will include:

• a training programme, launched in April 2011, to train a new generation of community organisers. 800 community organisers are expected to be trained by March 2012;
• a Communities First fund to support the creation of neighbourhood groups through small grants and endowments will start in May 2011;
• a Big Society Bank using £60m funds from dormant bank accounts will be established by April 2011 to enable charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to have access to funding to take over the running of public services;
• a taskforce has been set up to investigate bureaucratic burdens and 'red-tape' on the voluntary and community sector and provide recommendations on how to reduce them (see Big Society 'red tape' purge);
• a Transition Fund will be available from January 2011 to support voluntary groups, charities and social enterprises in modernising, and becoming more entrepreneurial;
• a National Citizen Service pilot programme aimed at encouraging volunteering and social action from 16 year olds, will be in place from September 2011, with 30,000 involved by September 2012.

The Big Society has been the focus of much debate since the General Election with various descriptions of what it might be being put forward by politicians and other commentators. Now at last with the publication of the Business Plan we have definite proposals - for better or worse - to debate.

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The Neighbourhood Challenge Fund launched

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD CHALLENGE has been launched to support community-led innovation.

The new programme from NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), working with the Big Lottery Fund, aims to show how community organisations – when equipped with the right skills, tools and small amounts of money – can help people to work together to create innovative responses to local priorities, particularly in neighbourhoods with low levels of "social capital" i.e. community activity, connections, relationships and trust between people.

Community organisations across England are invited to apply to the 18-month programme. NESTA will select ten organisations, with ideas for community projects or social enterprises and provide them with funding to trial an approach to community organising that reflects their own vision for what will work best in their area.

The Neighbourhood Challenge will deliver tangible impact and powerful case studies in local areas. At the same time, it will be rigorously evaluated to inform the Government’s thinking about how to make the Big Society work for all communities in the UK.

Find out more about The Neighbourhood Challenge from the NESTA website. The launch date for expressions of interest is 26 October 2010, the call will close on 22nd November 2010 at 12 noon.

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Big Society 'red tape' purge

GRAHAM STUART, MP for Beverley and Holderness MP, is calling on all charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to help in the fight against excessive red tape.

His call comes as the Government launches a joint Cabinet Office and Department of Business, Innovation and Skills task force to look at ways of making life easier for groups working in the voluntary and social sector. The Government has said that it is committed to making it easier to run charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises. Reducing bureaucratic burdens will free-up time and resources for these organisations to make a difference in their communities and help mobilise the Big Society.

Graham said: “I have, with the help of the East Riding Voluntary Action Services and Virtual Riders, contacted nearly every charity, social enterprise and voluntary group in the constituency. It is vital they contribute as much evidence as possible to the task force so it can make meaningful changes to the processes which these groups need to go through. As we push forward with the idea of a Big Society it is important Government does as much as possible to smooth the path for the very groups and organisations which communities rely on. I do not want to see them entangled in red tape which could easily have been slashed.”

The task force is a commitment in the Cabinet Office Structural Reform Plan. Its purpose is to investigate and recommend measures to reduce the burdens on small organisations and it is a vital tool in achieving the Government's aim to make it easier to run a charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation.

The chairman will be Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbots, who has spent his career advising and working with small and medium sized enterprises, and is currently NCVO President (National Council for Voluntary Organisations).

Evidence can be submitted by filling in a form at www.grahamstuart.com/cutting-red-tape/ or by emailing red.tape.taskforce@cabinetoffice.x.gsi.gov.uk

Useful Links:

• ERVAS
• Virtual Riders
• NCVO

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Village Hall and Community Building Website to be launched

"What happens here?"

A NEW WEBSITE is to be launched to advertise the facilities and activities available in Village Halls and other Community Buildings.

The new website, Rural Community Buildings, will be launched at the end of the year and will provide instant information about your community building; the facilities available, the rooms that can be booked, the events taking place, etc. It will aim to provide the most comprehensive database of community buildings in the East Yorkshire and Humber area.

The Rural Community Buildings website will benefit from having a marketing programme attached to it. The website will be promoted to local authorities, other voluntary and community groups, and private companies. The idea is to encourage other organisations to link to the website so that it becomes the main source of information on community buildings in the area. 

The new website will be promoted prior to its launch and continuously afterwards to ensure that it generates visitors and regular new traffic. Management Committees of Village Halls and Community Buildings will be able to ensure that their entry on the website is updated regularly with the latest information.

The website is being published by the HWRCC (Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council) who stress that the website will be independent but will benefit from links with them and other partner organisations.

There will be a cost for the service of £52 per year which will ensure the sustainability of the website and its continual development and maintenance.

The website, which is currently under development, will be at www.ruralcommunitybuildings.org.uk and further information and an opportunity to register your building for the new site is available at the HWRCC website.

Further information is available from Margaret Kirk, Village Halls Advisor, E-mail: margaret.kirk@hwrcc.org.uk Telephone: 01430 434046.

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Community workers to meet Minister for Employment

COMMUNITY WORKERS from the SHoRes Centre in Withernsea are to meet with Employment Minister Chris Grayling (pictured) to address their fears that that services run by local voluntary and community sector groups will be hit by Government cuts.

Graham Stuart, the Beverley and Holderness MP, has arranged the meeting after visiting the Withernsea based community Resource Centre last month.

“The teams at the SHoRes Centre are doing a great job helping as many people as possible get back into work and with their care needs. They are worried much of that work could be undermined as Government is forced to make the changes to public spending to get the country back on track after 13 years of Labour mismanagement. They fear they will be overlooked and possibly squeezed out by larger organisations which simply do not have the local knowledge which has been built up by dedicated staff at the SHoRes Centre.” - Graham Stuart MP

Three members of staff from the SHoRes Centre will travel to London with the MP to meet Chris Grayling. They will also be meeting other senior civil servants about new Government arrangements being put in place to improve services and get better value for money.

Graham Stuart has described the SHoRes Centre as a 'Withernsea success story' that provides a base for thriving social enterprises providing care services and back to work help in Holderness and Beverley.

Chris Grayling is the second senior Minister to agree to meet with people from Withernsea. In November the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, will visit Withernsea High School as part of the local MP's campaign to improve understanding of the needs of rural and coastal communities in East Yorkshire.

See also: PM offers comfort to VCS groups.

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PM offers comfort to voluntary and community groups threatened by cuts

PRIME MINISTER David Cameron was specifically asked about public spending cuts affecting voluntary and community groups in Parliament during PM's Question Time on Wednesday 15th September. In response to a Labour MP's assertion that many groups were on the brink of closure due to the cuts, the PM had this to say (Hansard: column 877):

"...what I would say to every council in the country, which is that we all know - and Opposition Members know - that we have to make spending reductions. The Opposition were committed to £44 billion of spending reductions at the last election, and we should say to every single council in the country, "When it comes to looking at and trimming your budgets, don't do the easy thing, which is to cut money to the voluntary bodies and organisations working in our communities. Look at your core costs. Look at how you can do more for less. Look at the value for money you get from working with the voluntary sector." (HU12 emphasis in bold)

Voluntary organisations across the HU12, Hull and East Yorkshire area should latch onto these words from David Cameron and insist that they are heeded by local authorities. Voluntary and community organisations are quite often closer to local people and have gained their trust, thus they can deliver services much more effectively and can offer good value for money.

Also see: Fears that cuts will hit voluntary and community groups including comments by Graham Stuart MP.

Parliamentary material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO on behalf of Parliament.

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